Association

Following threats earlier in the year from Gov. John Hickenlooper, Colorado’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC) has joined a lawsuit by the Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA) against the city of Longmont’s ban last year on hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed 29 bills into law last Tuesday, including SB 259, which the state’s chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) has derided as “a kissing cousin to forced pooling.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed 29 bills into law on Tuesday, including SB 259, which the state’s chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) has derided as “a kissing cousin to forced pooling.”

NGI’s Shale Daily reported that lawmakers in Pennsylvania had passed a bill that the state chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) opposes because it would allow forced pooling, and that it was unclear if Gov. Tom Corbett, a foe of forced pooling, would sign it (see Shale Daily, July 5). Patrick Henderson, Corbett’s energy adviser, told NGI’s Shale Daily the administration still opposes forced pooling, but doesn’t believe SB 259 would allow the practice. “Nothing in SB 259 requires someone to lease their land; changes the terms of a lease; or reduces the royalties paid to landowners,” Henderson said. “SB 259 is not forced pooling and has no relation to forced pooling.” The governor, he said, has until Wednesday (July 10) to decide whether to sign the bill.

The Supreme Court of Ohio has agreed to hear an appeal in a case involving local ordinances, or “home rule” laws, that pits a Utica Shale driller against a Summit County municipality that had tried to shut down the driller’s operations.

The Kentucky Oil and Gas Association’s (KOGA) first comprehensive research of the economic impact of the oil and gas industry found that the state had 14,632 producing natural gas wells in 2011 and produced more than 3 million bbl of oil in 2012, but the number of horizontal well permits issued has declined each year since 2009.

The American Gas Association estimates that more than 500,000 housing units in the Northeast switched from oil to natural gas for their primary heating fuel between 2000 and 2010.

The Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) expects there to be only “slightly upward pressure” on natural gas prices this summer compared to the summer of 2012 due to an anticipated drop in coal-to-gas switching by power generators and cooler temperatures early this summer.

The Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) expects there to be only “slightly upward pressure” on natural gas prices this summer compared to the summer of 2012 due to an anticipated drop in coal-to-gas switching by power generators and cooler temperatures early this summer.